Countries › Chile › Guide › 11. Real estate and land › Water rights in Chile after the 2022 Water Code reform: water as a national public good, 30 year concession rights, extinction for non use, registration of old rights by 6 April 2032

Water rights in Chile after the 2022 Water Code reform: water as a national public good, 30 year concession rights, extinction for non use, registration of old rights by 6 April 2032

Last verified: 2026-10-26 · Status: Changing

Water is a national public good; private parties hold water use rights (derechos de aprovechamiento), which are real rights separate from the land and must be bought and registered on their own. Rights granted since the 2022 reform last 30 years, renewed by law unless the water authority shows non use or harm to the source, and unused rights are extinguished after five years (consumptive) or ten (non consumptive) on the non use list. Rights granted before 2022 remain valid but caduce if not registered in the Conservador's water register by 6 April 2032.

Key facts

Term of water rights granted by concession since 2022	30 yearsCódigo de Aguas art. 6, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Non use period that extinguishes consumptive rights	5 yearsCódigo de Aguas art. 6 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Non use period that extinguishes non consumptive rights	10 yearsCódigo de Aguas art. 6 bis, as of 2026-10-26 · in force
Deadline to register pre 2022 rights granted by authority	2032-04-06 dateLey Nº 21.435 second transitory article, as of 2026-10-26 · in force

The rule

1. Water in all its states is a national good for public use; in the public interest, use rights are granted and may be limited, including to protect human consumption and sanitation, ecosystems, availability and aquifer sustainability. Access to drinking water and sanitation is an essential human right; no rights may be granted in glaciers; and in indigenous territories the State protects the integrity of land and water for the communities. Human consumption, domestic subsistence use and sanitation always prevail when granting or limiting rights.Código de Aguas, DFL Nº 1.122 of 1981, Ministerio de Justicia, as amended by Ley Nº 21.435 (Diario Oficial 6 April 2022), Art. 5 and art. 5 bis, 2022-04-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26

2. A water use right is a real right over water consisting of its temporary use and enjoyment. Rights from a concession last 30 years, set by the availability of the source or sustainability of the aquifer, or less by reasoned resolution; they are extended by law successively unless the Dirección General de Aguas proves non use or harm to the source, and only for the part used; holders may ask for early extension in the last ten years. Rights are extinguished in whole or part for non use: after five years for consumptive rights and ten for non consumptive rights, counted from the first listing for the non use patent.Código de Aguas, as amended by Ley Nº 21.435, Art. 6 and art. 6 bis, 2022-04-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26 · changed: Ley Nº 21.435 (Diario Oficial 6 April 2022) replaced indefinite rights with 30 year renewable concessions for new rights and added extinction for non use.

3. Rights recognised or granted before 6 April 2022, and uses regularised under transitory articles 2 and 5 of the Water Code, remain valid and are extinguished only under art. 129 bis 4 and 129 bis 5, but caduce if not registered in the Registro de Propiedad de Aguas of the Conservador. Rights granted by authority that were unregistered on 6 April 2022 must be registered before 6 April 2032 (eleven years for small farmers), after which registrars will not accept them and they caduce by law; registered rights not in the Public Water Cadastre must be reported to the Dirección General de Aguas in the same period, on pain of a fine. Regularisation of customary uses must start within ten years of 6 April 2022, except for indigenous persons and communities.Ley Nº 21.435, Reforma el Código de Aguas (Diario Oficial 6 April 2022), First and second transitory articles, 2022-04-06 official text · verified 2026-10-26

4. Gains on the sale of water rights by individuals are measured under the rules for shares and similar assets and, if taxable, bear global complementario or additional tax on a received basis.Decreto Ley Nº 824, Ley sobre Impuesto a la Renta, Art. 17 Nº 8 letter c), 2020-02-24 official text · verified 2026-10-26

Worked example

A buyer of an avocado orchard pays for the land and for 20 litres per second of groundwater rights. The rights must be transferred by separate deed and registered in the Conservador's water register; if the seller's right was granted before 2022 and never registered, it must be registered before 6 April 2032 or it lapses, and if it sits on the non use list, the five year extinction clock may already be running.

Step by step

Ask for the registration in the Registro de Propiedad de Aguas, the certificate of current ownership and the Public Water Cadastre entry.
Check the Dirección General de Aguas non use patent lists and any restrictions on the aquifer or basin.
Transfer the water right by public deed and register it with the Conservador.
For indigenous territories, check the protections in art. 5 and Ley Nº 19.253 art. 22.

Common traps

Water rights do not pass with the land unless expressly transferred and registered.
Rights granted since 2022 are for 30 years and can lose their renewal for non use.
Unregistered pre 2022 rights lapse on 6 April 2032.

Sources

← Indigenous land in Chile (Ley Nº 19.253): what counts as indigenous land, the ban on sale to non indigenous buyers, leases of up to five years, the CONADI registry, land bought by the land fund and consultation under ILO Convention 169Expropriation of property in Chile: constitutional guarantee, the DL Nº 2.186 procedure, provisional compensation by a three member commission, cash payment before possession, court challenges and deadlines →